Are Standardized Tests A Good Measure Of Academic Ability Or Progress? : A standardized test, as the name suggests, is a test that is given in a 'standardized' or consistent manner. Standardized tests are designed to have consistent questions, administration procedures, and scoring procedures. When a standardized test is administrated, it is done so according to certain rules and specifications so that testing conditions are the same for all the test takers. Standardized tests play a major role in education today, whether they are achievement tests measuring subject-specific knowledge or aptitude tests measuring scholastic readiness of students or competitive aspirants. The goal of the assessments is to provide a yardstick to evaluate a student's performance at school, university and competitive levels.
“IIT
and Microsoft do have a lot in common, optimism about the future, a belief that
fundamental science will lead to breakthroughs that will let us solve some of the
toughest problems that mankind faces, a belief that we can provide better tools
than ever before and that we've really just scratched the surface.”
- Bill Gates
Standardized
tests play a major role in education today, whether they are achievement tests
measuring subject-specific knowledge or aptitude tests measuring scholastic
readiness of students or competitive aspirants. The goal of the assessments is
to provide a yardstick to evaluate a student's performance at school,
university and competitive levels. However, the practice of using standardized
tests for measuring academic ability and progress has been heavily debated.
Both the supporters, as well as critics, are equally vocal about the relevance
of standardized testing in today's modernized world and it has become crucial
to analyze the arguments made by both sides.
A
standardized test, as the name suggests, is a test that is given in a
'standardized' or consistent manner. Standardized tests are designed to have
consistent questions, administration procedures, and scoring procedures. When a
standardized test is administrated, it is done so according to certain rules
and specifications so that testing conditions are the same for all the test
takers.
Since
the inception of the Indian Education system, examinations have existed to test
the academic abilities of the students. The capabilities of a student are often
judged by how well they perform in a test. Examinations at the school level can
be used to judge how well a student's brain is able to process information and
convert it into usable knowledge. Many schools conduct weekly tests and examinations
for the continuous assessment of students. These tests have both objective as
well as subjective questions.
Another
realm of standardized tests that exists in India is that of competitive
examinations. These examinations play a vital role in determining the future of
an individual. They are also referred to as high-stakes' tests. Cracking these
examinations ensures that the student has reserved a seat in the course of
their preference. A few of the most prestigious entrance examinations include
IIT-JEE, NEET, GATE, CLAT and UPSC.
There
are a number of advantages associated with subjecting a student to these
standardized tests. Standardized tests exist in a number of forms and that can
prove to be a good measure to assess a student's mental ability and critical
thinking skills. Achievement tests are designed to measure the academic
progress they have made over a period of time and are subject specific. Aptitude
tests attempt to predict a student's ability to succeed in an intellectual or
physical endeavor and forecast how well a student will perform in a particular
educational field or settings. Psychological tests, including IQ tests, are
used to measure a person's cognitive abilities and mental emotional
developmental and social characteristics.
College
admissions tests/Competitive examinations are used in the process of deciding
which students will be admitted to a collegiate program. These competitive
examinations are a good judge of how much capability a student possesses with
regard to the course they want to pursue which in turn determines how well they
will perform at the university level. Many core concepts learnt by the students
are put to the test using these examinations, which are also used when they
pursue the undergraduate course of their choice.
Competitive
examinations like the IIT-JEE and UPSC examination are one of the most
difficult examinations to crack in the world due to the level of questions
asked and the stringent practice of negative marking. This is done to ensure
that the student is incredibly confident with what they have prepared and
attempted. Many of these tests have also become computerized which allows speed
assessment of results.
While
preparing for the examination, the students can gauge whether they are
interested in the course or not as it is a matter concerned with their future.
These tests are a good indicator of a student's aptitude in a competitive
environment as all the students have to write the same topics in the same
amount of time. All students, in school or appearing for entrances are given a
fed syllabus which contains all the topics they need to prepare. This allows
them to strategically plan out what and how they need to study in order to
obtain the maximum marks. The students also learn how to deal with an increased
amount of pressure and can apply this skill to other aspects of life.
Even
with many advantages in its ambit, standardized tests are plagued by a number
of disadvantages. The teachers are often put in a box and are not allowed to
teach the curriculum in their own way and are restricted by the lesson plan
already provided to them. They do not have the freedom to map out the lesson
plan they would want to implement. This has also led the students to fall into
a rat race. Restrictive thinking of society has blinded them from the plethora
of opportunities available. These tests also inculcate the practice of
cheating, as each and every student is "success oriented and will do
anything to achieve the desired result.
From
a students' perspective, some cannot handle the mental pressure that is
involved in preparing for these examinations that lead to the development of a
number of mental disorders like test related anxiety and bipolar depression.
These high-stakes tests can take a toll on the student both physically and
psychologically. In extreme cases, students feel trapped and cannot find a way out,
inevitably causing them to end their misery and confusion by committing suicide.
India has seen an unprecedented rise in suicide in recent years.
In
standardized exams, all test takers answer the same questions under the same
conditions usually in multiple-choice format. Such tests reward quick answers
to superficial questions. They do not measure the ability to think deeply or
creatively in any field. Their use encourages a narrowed curriculum, outdated
methods of instruction, and harmful practices such as grade retention and
tracking. This often leads to restricting the mind of an individual and not
inculcating the habit of "out of the box" thinking.
The
only objective part of most standardized tests is scoring, when done by an
accurately programmed machine. All the details of the test from deciding what
items to include on the test, to which answer is scored correct, is done by
subjective human beings. In addition to this, all tests have "measurement
error" making the scores extremely unreliable.
Most
test-makers review items for obvious biases, such as offensive words. But many
forms of bias are not superficial. Test-makers also use statistical
bias-reduction techniques. However, these cannot detect underlying bias in the
test's form or content. As a result, biased cultural assumptions built into the
test as a whole often, are not removed by test-makers. Also, multiple choice
and short answer type questions are very poor yardsticks of student learning.
They are weak measures of the ability to comprehend complex material. They do
not adequately measure thinking skills and what people can do on real-world
tasks.
These
tests do not reflect current knowledge about how students learn. While our
understanding of the brain and how people learn and think has progressed
enormously, standardized tests have remained the same. Test makers still assume
that knowledge can be broken into separate bits and that people learn by
absorbing these individual parts. Today, cognitive and developmental
psychologists understand that knowledge is not separable into bits and that
people learn by connecting what they already know with what they are trying to
learn. If they cannot actively make meaning out of what they are doing, they do
not learn or remember.
Considering
the drawbacks of standardized testing, there is a need to introduce changes in
the present education system, especially, with regard to standardized testing.
India has been following the practice of standardized testing since times
immemorial. The system needs to be reformed by making it more interactive and
student friendly. The only reason standardized tests can be a good measure is
that they are quantifiable and allow easy comparisons between different
students. For a potential candidate to be selected to a reputed university
there must be a provision for the assessment of their overall development which
can be analyzed through interviews, group discussions, debates, extracurricular
activities and sports. Therefore, standardized tests can be a good measure for
assessing a student's academic ability; however, it is not the only measure.
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